Leatherneck Baseball Lends Helping Hand to Lincoln Elementary

On Saturday (Sept. 6) Western baseball players gathered to give back to the community.

MACOMB, Ill. - On Saturday, September 6, Western Illinois baseball student-athletes gathered at Macomb's Lincoln Elementary to give back to the community by weeding the playground and painting new lines in the parking lot. The project was a special one for head baseball coach Ryan Brownlee.

"I come from a family of educators so most of our community service projects are about helping kids," said Brownlee. "My daughter Norah graduated from Lincoln last year and had a great experience there. Mr. Horrell is a tremendous person who has a lot of school pride for Lincoln."

In just two hours 34 Leatherneck baseball players cleared weeds from the playground and painted fresh lines for stalls in the parking lot. Two projects that eliminated hours of work from the school district's "to-do" list.

"I am always impressed with our players in these settings," Brownlee said. "The playground looked great when we were finished and I learned that some of our guys can really paint. Even though we are full go with practice in the fall, it is still more laid back than the spring because we don't travel. It is a great time for us to give back to our community here. We are all in this together."

The team's work at Lincoln not only provided benefit for the school but for Western Athletics and the city of Macomb as well.

"Coach Brownlee, Lisa Melz-Jennings, and Lamarr Pottinger have always provided fantastic cooperation from Western Illinois Athletics and I think that has just carried over into this," said Lincoln Elementary Assistant Principal Steve Horrell. "The team came out and worked for two solid hours clearing weeds and painting lines. I think this is a win-win situation for both Western athletics and Macomb Public Schools. We at Lincoln Elementary are very appreciative of everything the athletics department has done."

The baseball team's work contributes to a Western Illinois athletics department-wide effort that added up to over 2,000 hours of service in the 2013-14 school year and has accrued almost 100 hours in just three weeks in 2014-15.

A gallery of photos from the weekend's project can be found HERE

Following their Saturday project, the baseball team opened up the 2014-15 fall season on Sunday (Sept. 7) with a 6-4 win over Lincoln Land Community College. The Purple and Gold continue fall preparation at noon on Sunday (Sept. 14) against the Illinois Central College Cougars in Alfred D. Boyer Stadium.

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